| Black Suits,
I am a parent of two college students who qualify for financial aid. In fact, I just got off the phone with my oldest with regard to FA at one of the grad schools she was just accepted to (which, voila, offers no need based aid). Originally you were saying that BOCO offers no need based aid. That got changed now to no need based grants. Believe me, as a parent, a loan or work study (we declined all work study for our kids) is not seen at all in the same light as a grant!!!! We have massive loans because we plan to pay ALL of the student loans for our children and we took out Parent Plus Loans to cover the amount that we could not fully afford even if the formulas say we can. Trust me, I know the difference between aid that is in the form of a loan and that which is a grant that you don't pay back. My kids' undergrad FA PACKAGES included grants and loans (and work study but we don't want them to do that as they have no time).
But the fact remains that when talking about need based aid, or financial aid, that loans that colleges provide to those who qualify for need based aid IS called FINANCIAL AID. So, if someone says a school offers NO aid but they really do, that is not accurate. An accurate statement is that this particular school offers need based student and parent loans and work study, doesn't meet 100% of need, and also offers some merit based scholarships. The need based components that they offer may not be desirable or satisfactory to you, understandably, but it is still referred to as financial aid. Also, some of the federally subsidized student loans have lower interest rates and you don't pay them back until after graduation and thus have some advantages over the Parent Plus Loans that we also have had to take out. I understand that you are hard pressed to call student or parent loans "FA", but be that as it may, since many people read this forum, I feel an obligation to stick with the definition of financial aid and FA encompasses loans, work study, and grants. |